When you hear the word “engineer” what comes to your mind? Most people would probably picture someone fixing electricity, electronics or cars while some others will think of those working in the oil and gas industry.
The term “engineering” cuts across a broad category of well defined occupations with workers responsible for a huge number of tasks that makes up the physical reality of what we can see today.
If you successfully refuel your generator and put it on, use you changeover to switch to generator light, the light comes on and you turn on your T.V set, you have successfully carried out about 3 different engineering jobs.
Let us now look at the meaning of engineering and what engineers really do.
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According to Wikipedia “Engineering is the use of scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other things, including bridges, roads, vehicles, and buildings”.
Engineers develop, design, test, modify, install, evaluate, inspect and maintain a wide variety of products and systems. They also recommend and specify materials and processes, supervise manufacturing and construction, conduct failure analysis, provide consulting services and teach engineering courses in colleges and universities.
With a continuous demand for engineers in most industries, engineering has become one of the fastest growing careers in Kenya.
Engineering covers many fields and by extension, many skills, but in this article we will discuss top engineering jobs that are in-demand and their salaries.
Electronics Engineering: (also called electronics and communications engineering) is an electrical engineering discipline which utilizes nonlinear and active electrical components (such as semiconductor devices, especially transistors, diodes and integrated circuits) to design electronic circuits, devices, VLSI devices and their systems. As an electronics engineer you’ll design, develop and test components, devices, systems or equipment that use electricity as part of their source of power.
Requirements – To get a decent job you will need at least an experience of 2 to 3 years after completing the 4 years degree course in electronics engineering.
Salary structure: The average monthly salary of electronics engineers is Ksh 57,000
Electrical Engineering: This is a technical discipline that is concerned with the study, design and application of equipment, devices and systems which use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. Electrical power and systems are at the heart of modern society – and so too are electrical and electronics engineers. Engineers specializing in these fields have transformed the 21st century with technologies such as universal electric power systems, television, radio, medical imaging, etc.
Requirements – To apply for electrical engineering jobs, you must have a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering. Any additional education or certification could also improve job prospects.
Salary Structure: Electrical engineers earn between Ksh 69,396 to ksh 218,524 monthly.
Mechanical Engineer: This is one of the broadest of the engineering discipline and it involves the design, analysis and construction of machines. In the last decade some of our popular mechanical engineering projects include drones, robots, etc.
Requirements – Apart from a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering, you need to have an understanding of mechanics, dynamics, thermodynamics, materials science, structural analysis, and electricity.
Salary Structure: The average monthly salary for mechanical engineers in Kenya is KSh 50,000
Apply for mechanical engineering jobs here
Civil Engineering: This is one of the most recognized oldest engineering disciplines and it involves the construction and maintenance of roads, bridges, dams, railroads, airports and other building structures. Civil engineers are the ones responsible for creating our cities.
The least requirements needed to apply for a civil engineering job is as follows:
KCSE C + (plus) with at least B+ Mathematics and physics and B plain in Chemistry and English or C plain in KCSE with a diploma at least credit or pass in relevant fields of study from a recognized institution.
Those with a master’s or PhD will have higher levels of specialization and expertise which may also mean more interesting, challenging and stimulating roles to choose from.
Salary Structure: Civil engineers earn about 61,942 KES (minimum salary) to 195,051 KES monthly.
Automotive Engineering: A bit related to mechanical is a branch of vehicle engineering, incorporating elements of mechanical, electrical, electronic, software, and safety engineering as applied to the design, manufacture and operation of motorcycles, automobiles, and trucks and their respective engineering subsystems.
Automotive engineers are those people who design, develop and manufacture our cars.
Requirements – Bachelor’s degree in automobile engineering with strong designing and implementation skills.
Software Engineering: With the rapid growth of internet, social media and mobile apps, software engineers are now opportune to choose from variety of things to venture into as the field is broad and also offers several alternative career paths.
Software engineers also called computer software engineers are responsible for developing, testing and evaluating the software that makes our computers work.
Requirements – For job opportunities, one must possess a bachelor’s degree in computer science or MCA. They also need to have knowledge of different computer languages.
Freshers in this field must be good at programming. While experienced must have worked with different language developing programs both windows and web based.
Salary Structure: the average salary of software engineers is Ksh 50,000. Where entry level staff earn as low as Ksh 37,000 while senior level staff earn about Ksh 67,000.
Petroleum Engineering: This is a very tough and demanding field among the engineering discipline. It involves figuring out methods to get the most oil out of the ground, physically drilling into the Earth’s surface to recover the oil and maintenance of oil-rich areas i.e. preventing natural disasters or keeping a tech-savvy eye on oil-pumping machinery.
Requirements – Entry level petroleum engineering jobs require a bachelor’s degree. Bachelor’s degree programs include classes, laboratory work, and field studies in areas such as engineering principles, geology, and thermodynamics.
Salary Structure: The national average salary for a Drilling Engineer in Kenya is KSh 168,000.
There are numerous engineering jobs in Kenya but whichever path you decide to take it all depends on you to make it better.
As seen above, not all engineering discipline require earning a bachelor’s degree but it is better to get a degree and professional certification as it serves as a distinction.
There are different opportunities in government companies. If you are interested in engineering jobs subscribe now to our daily job alerts on https://www.myjobmag.co.ke
